Roxanne Vance and Allison Stevens- 2011

“On February 12, 2011, Allison Stevens and I presented the research that had been conducted over the last two semesters and the summer for the Fort Des Moines Museum. The research was done over African-American officers who earned their commission at the fort during World War I in 1917. By using original documents, newspaper articles, books, decedents and an many other sources, we were able to piece together the lives of these men and create biographies that had not been done before.”

“Out of 639 names that were researched, 30 of the most significant men were chosen to be highlighted…Overall, my time working at Fort Des Moines on the Black Officers Project was both challenging and fun.”